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Learning Code to Open Possibility Thinking

“Code” seems to be a bad word, like “spinach” to a child. Yucch!

When I suggest “learning code” to some business owners, the response is out loud laughter followed by a raised eyebrow or curled lip, hoping I’m not serious.  Alas, serious I am – but in simple form.

Learning some simple basics can save time, money, and open a world of thought and possibilities. After showing one retail store operator how to “hyperlink” to her own pages and to other places and pages on the web (Be the Resource), she went to work creating hyperlinks on all of her old pages and posts.

In my gut, I believe that most owners cringe at “code” due to fear of breaking something (you won’t), not because of lacking an adventuresome spirit – heck, they operate their own business. That’s an adventure. Small Business owners are often Do-It-Yourself’ers.

If you have a bit of DIY in you, there’s a super-simple (and fun) site called Codeacademy that guides you through learning simple code and leads you into new possibilities. And it’s FREE!

codeacademy

If you want to dive deeper and really learn how to do more in-depth projects, including mobile, then Treehouse might be a place for you to developing your code chops. For a small monthly fee, you can learn quite a bit.

Ten years ago, I made those scrunched up faces when asked if I wanted to learn code. Then again, I said “yucch” to spinach when I was a kid. Now, I do it every day (code and spinach, though not together).

How about your future? Any code down the road?

Have fun!

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A Non-Techie Way to Embed a YouTube Video

Before the words “embed a video” can contort a face, I quickly soften the crinkling frown with “by simply pasting the URL” and smile.

With almost every site I work with, we use the plugin Tentblogger’s Vimeo, YouTube, RSS Embed. It allows you, the publisher, to simply grab the URL of the video and paste it into a box. The video gets embedded without you having to mess with any “code”. It allows your RSS readers to see a link to your page if they don’t see the video.

Whether it’s a video you’ve made yourself, a clip from someone else, this plugin makes a big impact with a small step.

Here’s a short video from the folks at Manta. I simply grabbed the URL and pasted it using the plugin:

Easy. A small step with big value.

Here’s a how-to on this great video plugin from the author himself.

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Capturing Conversation Using Skype and Snagit

Ginger Johnson and her WEB mobileI was visiting with Ginger Johnson of Women Enjoying Beer yesterday as she was packing things up and going to the Great American Beer Festival ’12 in Denver, and we decided to shoot some video.

Keep in mind that Ginger is in Oregon, I am in Nebraska. We visited via Skype. I turned on Snagit to capture the conversation audio/video.

I asked a few questions (and then edited my voice out) and now we’re uploading snippets (edited in iMovie) to her site and YouTube.

“Face to Face” yet not “Belly to Belly”. The latter is better, but not always possible.

If you’re looking to shoot some video, have some video edited and uploaded, or just want another voice to coach along during your recording – it’s one of the new SmallBizTracks offerings we provide.

If you’re going to the GABF12, make sure to visit Ginger and her team (look for the T-Shirts).

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“Face-to-Face” May Not Be “Belly-to-Belly” in the Near Future

Skype Business CallsIs one-on-one Video Conferencing transactions in your company’s future? Or how about one-to-many webinar or small group meetings?

Maybe it’s time to start thinking about using this “face-to-face” technology.

Upon reading the headline, iPhone, iPad Video Banking Could Spell The End For Branches, I thought it was just another sensationalist piece at first. At the least, a story about testing of such tools. But it’s being put into play in some parts and close-at-hand with some large institutions.

“If customers can get face-to-face service over the internet, why would they ever need to step foot in a branch again?”

Though I don’t think branch banking will end any time soon, how will other businesses – large and small – begin to adopt one-on-one Video Conferencing technology.

My own use of Skype and Google Hangouts is growing, increasing revenue and reducing costs. And for my customers, it’s great to be able to meet quickly – even if we’re two time zones away.

Want to see if Video Conferencing is right for you? Schedule a free complimentary discovery session. We’ll use Skype or Google Hangout and talk about using this type of tool in your business. (Plus, it will be great practice for you).

It’s “Face-to-Face”, just not “Belly-to-Belly”.

3 Simple Guidelines for QR Codes

Sample QRcodeQuestions about QR codes (Quick Response) are frequent and in many cases, more advanced than simply “What’s a QR code?

Even if the question is about how QR codes work, I interpret the question to be “How will a QR code help my business?” or “What’s the best way to use a QR code?

There are three guidelines I offer in using QR Codes:

  1. Point to something besides your home page – If you’re just going to point to your “www” spell it out so everyone can read it. Better practice is to create a unique “landing page” to welcome your mobile visitor or send them to a page within your site targeted for the specific audience you’re trying to attract. An example might be a restaurant pointing to a menu that is good to grab-and-go (remember, visitors will be on a mobile device).
  2. Don’t be a moving target – Have you ever seen a QR code on a billboard or the side of a vehicle. Tough to capture if either the QR code or the mobile user is moving. I could see it work on the back of a vehicle if it’s often parked in a public place, such as a job site or in an area with heavy foot traffic.
  3. Track results – Always test and track. You can use unique URLs or shortened URLs to help track where your mobile visitor comes from and if they took an action. QRickit has a terrific guide on tracking QR code traffic.

The are so many ways to use QR code, but two important questions remain: Do they point to or provide value to your customer or visitor? Will they help you reach your business goals?

Wonderful Story: One company is now developing brass QR codes for headstones so grieving families can attach to the after-life memorials of their loved ones.

Setting up QR codes, Landing Pages, and ways to track your traffic are each one of the small steps a business can take towards bigger results. They are what I’ve been calling “SmallBizTracks” – small steps, simple, affordable.

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Image Optimizer Resizes Your Images, Speeds Up Your Site

One fantastic thing about social and mobile is watching how a business owner gets excited taking and using their own photos. Pictures of their store, their products, their employees, the new tire on the company truck … once that bug bites, it’s fast-spreading.

A challenge is that the images uploaded from your phone or camera are often HUGE. And if you put these photos on your site in their original form – it can really slow your site down. A lot.

One browser-based tool I’ve been recommending is ImageOptimizer.Net (also available as a download). Simply upload the photo, pick a maximum size desired (for web use, I use 500), and optimize.

Here’s a screen shot of a how ImageOptimizer resized a recent photo I uploaded from a digital camera:

ImageOptimzer Screenshot

The original image was 2560w by 1920h and 2271KB. After Image Optimizer, we went to 500 by 375 and 33KB. Big difference! Though I haven’t downloaded the software, I understand you can batch upload many images at once.

If you are a MAC user, consider using Automator to batch resize your photos (help from OSXDaily). It’s my preferred method if I’m at my own computer. Additionally, WP plugin WPSmush.it helps reduce images sizes for WordPress users.

Know of other forms of resizing or optimizing your images? Share them below.

 

 

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Find Flickr Photos Faster with PhotoPin

This piece originally appeared on Dialing8

Photo Pin has become a favorite tool and shortcut. It’s a time saver and really an assistant to finding and posting images to your blog posts.

Photo Pin Helps Bloggers Find Images

It’s a search engine for Creative Commons licensed images on Flickr.  It seems to be a quicker search and the choices are plentiful as to how you want to filter the license or search. You can also find a “top-tier” of relevant stock images for purchase if those catch your eye.

When searching for an image, the default filter seems to be “Interestingness” and “Non-Commercial” – and I suggest you change those to “Relevance” and “Commercial” (you’ll find these choices on the left once you begin searching).

Photo Pin Image Search Results

Once you find an image on Photo Pin click on “get photo” – and then you can download the image, grab the proper attribution code, and even “fave” the image on Flickr to “keep found things found.”

We searched the term “learning” to find the results shown above. Let’s look closer at the image details.

Photo Pin Details

You have four sections and an additional step we’ll take on your blog post (uploading the image to your site).

1. Download the Photo

Download the Photo Pin image

2. Upload Your Image

Justify Image Right

The best placement for your image is on the right. However in most cases, you should place your cursor at the beginning of a paragraph and then call for the image to be right justified from within your blog editor. (Here’s a video on how to properly upload an image on WordPress)

3. Grab the Attribution Code

Photo Pin Code

Copy the HTML code so you can give proper attribution on your blog post.

4. Paste code onto your post

Copy Photo Pin Code

Paste the code near the bottom of your post by going to the HTML editor. You can see the end result at the bottom of this post.

That’s it. Make sure to save Photo Pin in your bookmark toolbar (How-to: Firefox | Chrome).

photo credit: Rusty Stewart via photopin cc

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PayPal Here: Changing How We Do Business – SoLoMo

Accepting Mobile Credit Card PaymentsThe launch of PayPal Here, a new app allowing merchants and consultants to accept multiple forms of payment anywhere, puts additional importance to recognizing the changing face of where and how we do business – especially using mobile devices.

While several devices have been around, including the Square App, the PayPal Here app promises to accept more payment types (including checks).

The landscape of how we do business continues to change, especially in the ranks of small and independent businesses. Now, a solopreneur can take a payment anywhere and a small business owner can do business outside of their office or retail space.

While tools like these assist in the “local” and “mobile” part of the SoLoMo movement, how long before the “social” becomes more a part of the mobile payment process? Does the check-in become a moving target? Is there a benefit for “merchants” that accept mobile payments to “check-in” at an established location (non-competitive of course)?

 

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Watch Your Day: Create Your Own Stock Images

Create Your Own Stock ImagesHow many of you have a camera on your phone, raise your hand …

Whether you have a smart phone or not, the opportunities for taking your own stock images are plentiful. Additionally, improvements and growth of mobile apps such as Photoshop Express and Instagram make capturing, editing, and sorting images a breeze.

I’ve seen a lot of folks invest 20 minutes writing a blog post, then spend another 20 minutes looking for the right image. Better to take a few minutes here and there to be prepared.

Create some stock images of your own. Have a library ready to help tell your story. Just as you should Listen to Your Day in writing your blog, Watch Your Day for capturing great storytelling images.

 

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Quirco iPhone Icon Generator [Cool Tool]

Wanting something different for a site map / navigation on Dialing 8, I found the Quirco iPhone Icon Generator to be a handy tool.

Completely web-based, it allows you to preview your icons as they would look on a device.

Whether it be a mobile device or browsers, we’re seeing more an more navigation with this style. Fad or just getting started?

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